Welcome Back!
Now one of my favourite parts about Zakynthos is these incredible creatures. We are so blessed to live among these special animals and have the opportunity to swim alongside with them. Today I will give you a little information on the best places to go turtle spotting and also some important ways to enjoy this expereince but also protect the turtles.
Zakynthos is famous for its National Marine Conservation Area, supported and monitored by Archeleon, in the Laganas/Kalamaki bay. This stretch of beach becomes the nesting grounds of many turtles throughout the summer months, a team of volunteers mark the nests on the beach and patrol the beaches to ensure they are not disturbed.
IMPORTANT TIP 1
The beaches are closed at night to give the turtles protected time to venture onto the beach and lay their eggs. Please don’t visit the beaches at night time as this can distrupt the nesting procedure of a turtle.
Many boat trips happen in this area due to the popular demand of tourists wanting to see a turtle, for this reason there are many regulations in place for boats in this area. There is a speed limit of 6 knots, fishing is banned and no more than 2 boats can observe a turtle at one time. It is important that if you do plan to visit the National Marine Park on your holiday that you do this with a company that adhere to these rules, this way you get the privilage of seeing a turtle in their natural environment and the security of knowing you are also protecting their welbeing.
IMPORTANT TIP 2
If you are lucky enought to come across a turtle whilst swimming in the water please do not touch or feed the turtle. And if the turtle appears distressed keep a good distance.
On a turtle spotting trip you will also visit Marathonisis Island, this is a small uninahabited island. This is a popular spot for turtles nests also and a large area of this beach unaccessible to do security measures to protect the nests. The soft sand is the perfect place for the turtles to dig and make their nests, this is why we are asking to sit on the wet sand at the front of the beach where we are less likely to damage any nests hidden under the sand.
FUN FACT 1
Marathonisi Island is also know as turtle island, not only because this is a popular turtle spot but also because incredibly the island is actually shaped like a turtle!
If you do see or even swim alongside a turtle you will see what a magical expereince this is, here is a video we captured during a swim stop on our boat.
